Water Pump size

[Sivian]

Hi guys,

I am gonna run a single DWC waterfall. The tank capacity is about 48 gal but I assume I Will only use around 40 GAL. Initially there Will be 6 plants but I will select only one and eliminate the rest in order to create a Monster (deal with the wife...only one plant). The 6 initial plants will be on the same tank.

I am quite lost as I see for Air pumps more is usually better but in the case of water pumps not so much. The cables that will create the waterfall effect will be around 20-25 inches in upwards direction.

With this info, is anyone capable of making suggestions of the approximate gph I should aim for?

Soil farmer for 10 years, i'm scared of shifting to hydro but I hope it's for the best!

 

[RedZedHead]

also shifting to DWC for the first time. looking forward to other members answers!

 

[Sivian]

Welcome to the team buddy!

I have been thinking how to solve this and I think I will go with a strong one around 400-500gph, connect it
to a pipe and then put an elbow to make the waterfall Splash effect to generate bubles and move the water consistently.

I would use a second smaller water pump (80gph or so) just to irrigate the pots directly through the hoses. The water Will also be dripping from the 6 pots and reinforce the waterfall effect.

Obviously, I think I might need something to chill the water too.

Is this too crazy?

 

[straightup]

Hi guys,

I am gonna run a single DWC waterfall. The tank capacity is about 48 gal but I assume I Will only use around 40 GAL. Initially there Will be 6 plants but I will select only one and eliminate the rest in order to create a Monster (deal with the wife...only one plant). The 6 initial plants will be on the same tank.

I am quite lost as I see for Air pumps more is usually better but in the case of water pumps not so much. The cables that will create the waterfall effect will be around 20-25 inches in upwards direction.

With this info, is anyone capable of making suggestions of the approximate gph I should aim for?

Soil farmer for 10 years, i'm scared of shifting to hydro but I hope it's for the best!

The way I do it is I convert everything to minutes.

So if a pump does 500 gph, that's 500 divided by 60 = 8.33 gallons per minute.

Now we look at the total capacity of your DWC system. You mentioned that the tote will hold ~40 gallons.

With a 500gph pump, you would recirculate your entire system in 4.8 minutes (40 gallons divided by 8.33gpm).

A good rule of thumb is to have your entire system recirculate within 3 or 4 minutes - at least that's what I was taught in regards to RDWC.

Tip on the waterfalls: Use 3-way pvc elbows for the tips, that way they tilt down and shoot into the water (as opposed to a t-connector or straight pipe). You can also shove some 1" pipe screens in the ends to aerate the water even better - which is similar to the effect you get at your kitchen or bathroom sink.